Black House Blend Cold Brew

Blind Assessment: A ready-to-drink bottled black coffee tested over ice. Briskly vivacious and intricate. Complex berry notes (blueberry, strawberry), almond, sandalwood, lilac-like flowers. Sweetly bright in structure; full and lightly syrupy in mouthfeel. Flavor persists without loss of distinction with added whole milk. A nitro (nitrogenated) version of this blend displayed a livelier mouthfeel though somewhat less clearly articulated flavor.

Notes: This coffee tied for the second-highest rating in a tasting of ready-to-drink bottled black coffees for Coffee Review’s July 2018 tasting report. Sold in 12-ounce cans. Prepared by the cold-brew method, which involves prolonged steeping of ground coffee in cold or room-temperature water and subsequent filtering. Contains no additives or ingredients other than coffee and water. The green coffee used to produce this beverage is blend of 90% Ethiopia dried-in-the-fruit or “natural”-processed coffee and 10% Sumatra wet-hulled coffee. Modern Times is a well-loved, exuberantly inventive Point Loma, San Diego brewery that has long specialized in coffee-beer crossovers and overlaps. Visit www.moderntimescoffee.com for more information.

The Bottom Line: A cleanly fruit-forward and refreshing cold coffee with a brisk structure and plush mouthfeel.